dbierm03

I'm not going to pretend this was some masterpiece but I think people are being overly critical. I'm an elder millennial (Oregon Trail Gen!) so I'm going to have a special place in my heart for the original. I won't say this quite lived up to the original. Sam Elliot and Swayze brought something that can't quite be recreated today. However, fans of the original need to be realistic.... It was cheesy, like super cheesy. I still remember Swayze kicking the overweight guy through the window with the fakest roundhouse kick I've ever seen and the the dude just looked like he jumped out.

So, this version didn't have the all the charm but it did have some. Gyllenhall was great, as always. The book store girl was super likable and helped provide a reason for Elwood to stick around. The fight scenes were far far better than the original and I don't see how anyone could argue against that objectively. Only a couple of the bar staff were memorable and the owner just seemed pointless. I agree that McGregor was over the top. He had some great moments too though. I think they could have done better reigning McGregor in and maybe spending time making some of the Roadhouse crew a little more memorable. The plot was meh but so was the original and no one watches a movie like this for the plot. If you make the characters likable enough you don't need a great plot. This is more like a 6.5 for me but I'm rounding up due to the ridiculously low ratings from some.